August 20, 2011

The day that started it all...

On a bright, sunny day (August 20th, 2011 to be exact:) at 12 p.m., my mom drove me to a college campus in the Santa Clarita Valley so I could officially become a Mustang. I am now a proud student of The Master's College and am very humbled by His grace in placing me there.

A few weeks or days (I can't remember:) before the deposit deadline was due for students attending TMC, I still had not received any news about any kind of financial aid. One morning, I shared with my mom how discouraged I was that I would most likely not be going to TMC this year. Ever since grades became "important," I worked hard to get the best, all to be accepted at TMC. It was my dream school from a very early age. However, even though I got accepted, I did not have the funds to actually go to school there. Or anywhere really.

That night, I had an envelope laying on my bed when I got home from school, and it was my financial aid award from Master's. The next day, I recieved a CalGrant, which is a "hit-or-miss" with lots of people, and the Lord graciously allowed me to be a recipient of one. The day after that, I recieved some other finanical aid awards, and all in all, I was able to afford TMC!

So, August 20th. The beginning of WOW (Week of Welcome). I joined the fabulous group #15 and we enjoyed a great week of meeting new people, learning our way around campus, and enjoying one another's company through various planned activities. I also had the privilege of staying in the TMC-owned "off-campus dorm" for the duration of WOW and met other students like me, who will be traveling back and forth to school instead of living on-campus.

And then came August 27th. The first day of classs and the first week of "Syllabus Shock" as our professors like to call it (: I went through all my classes and learned what it was like to be "on your own" as a college student. No one is there to make sure you go to your classes. No one will be making sure you study, or do your homework. No more progress reports and parent-teacher conferences. Instead, you become responsible for you.

As I settle into the fourth week of classes (how time FLIES!), I am enjoy every moment of my college learning experience. I am making friends, enjoying my classes (in fact, the class I was most worried about happens to be one of my favorites:), and everything else the school has to offer! I'm part of our fall production, Collegiate Choir and an Intramural Volleyball team! College definitely is keeping me busy. In the very best sense (: